Asheville is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina. The city's population is 83,393 while the four-county Asheville metropolitan area has a population of 424,858 (2010 census).
Source: Wikipedia
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Statistics
History
Asheville was a primitive outpost in 1797. Frontiersmen such as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett traveled through in the early days. Asheville was little more than a crossroads of Indian trails on a plateau surrounded by mountains and rivers on all sides.
The railroad transformed Asheville and Buncombe County into a resort and therapeutic health center when it arrived in 1880. Asheville became a Mecca for visitors searching for a mountain escape, its population climbing to nearly 30,000 seasonal residents in 1890.
Asheville had no money to invest in urban renewal projects that were so popular in other cities following Black Monday (1987). The magnificent buildings built during the boom years were spared the bulldozer as a result of Asheville commitment to repay its debt. This is why Asheville is a snap shot of what an American boomtown looked like during the turn of the century. It isn't unusual to find quaint mom and pop shops in elegant surroundings.
Asheville has always drawn visionaries, poets and explorers. George W. Vanderbilt came to Asheville in the late 1880s and quickly purchased 120,000 acres to build his grand estate. The endeavor took six years and Vanderbilt commissioned renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design the grounds and gardens, and celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt to help him plan the house. Biltmore Estate has withstood the test of time and modern mansions are dwarfed by the regal home.
Thomas Wolfe was born in Asheville and grew up in his mother's rambling boardinghouse, known as "Dixieland." Wolfe is one of the giants of American literature, and Asheville is the backdrop for his autobiographical novel, "Look Homeward, Angel."
Source: Exploreasheville.com/
By Michael Tracey - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mogmismo/15445314911/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86840589
Information
Asheville pops up on national rankings for a variety of things: "a New Age Mecca" (CBS News' Eye On America, 1996), the "New Freak Capital of the U.S." (Rolling Stone, 2000), one of "The 50 Most Alive Places To Be" (Modern Maturity, 2000), the "Happiest City for Women" (Self, 2002), one of the "Best Places to Reinvent Your Life" (AARP Magazine, 2003), one of the "Best Outside Towns" (Outside Magazine, 2006), one of the "Top Seven Places to Live in the U.S." (Frommer's, 2007), one of the “10 Most Beautiful Places in America" (Good Morning America, 2011), and one of the "25 Best Places for Business and Careers" (Forbes, 2012). Asheville has been listed as one of the "Top 25 Small Cities for Art" in AmericanStyle magazine's annual list from 2000 to 2012 and has reigned the champion "Beer City USA" each year from 2009 to 2012. Dozens of micro breweries dot the downtown and major producers, including New Belgium Brewing Company (opening 2015) are in the process of building in or near the city.
In his 2008 book, The Geography of Bliss, author Eric Weiner cited Asheville as one of the happiest places in the United States. Asheville and the surrounding mountains are also popular in the autumn when fall foliage peaks in October. The scenic Blue Ridge Parkway runs through the area and near the Biltmore Estate.
Prayer Points
- As Asheville is a city full of creative people, pray that creation would encounter the Creator through their crafts.
- Asheville's motto is "Anyway you like it." Pray that the deception of this motto would be uncovered, and the people of Asheville would come to know The Way, The Truth and The Light.
- Asheville is a city full of facades. On the outside, it's a beautiful tourist city, full of artsy people, and beautiful sights. Underneath, however, there is a city void of truth that has by and large turned it's back on God. Pray that light would be shed on this facade, and Asheville would come to see it's brokenness, so that it can be healed by the Healer.
- Pray for a unity amongst the body of Christ in Asheville. It is greatly divided and thus not as effective in reaching the city for Jesus as a unified body.
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